Hairy-fruited brooms are tall shrubs, very common in the north of Portugal. They form scrublands over two meters high, almost impenetrable. When these are found near roads and highways, they are cut in a strip some meters wide along the road, before summer, as a precaution against spreading fires. Walking through the Montemuro Sierra a few days ago, I saw precisely this kind of broom scrubland cutted near the soil along the road. I got closer and felt small before the height of these bushes, well over two meters high. Thick trunks revealed bushes some years old. I marvelled at the light color of the trunks, the very narrow green leaves rippling in the wind and the blue sky. I placed myself close to the ground and photographed with a wide-angle lens to emphasize the gigantism of these shrubs.